Chapter 43

"I can't believe you left me outside with that ponce," Ron grumbled, as he followed Hermione up the stairs on their way to bed.

"What was I suppose to do, Ronald?" Hermione argued back, as she walked in front of him. "Not let him say hello to you? Not let him speak to you?"

"Yes!" he exclaimed rather dramatically. "Yes, you should've done exactly that." Despite herself, she had to laugh at her husband's hysterics as they entered their bedroom. "Hugo was just as bored as I was and-" Ron continued his rant, following Hermione around as she got ready for bed. Hermione held a smirk on her face as her husband continued to whine while his wife had just literally undressed in front of him and he didn't even notice. She now stood in nothing but her underwear in front of him, unable to get to her night dress that lay under her pillow as he blocked the exit from their walk-in wardrobe. "-and he was going on and on and on about how his new dealing with some Bulgarian would help-" Hermione rolled her eyes and tuned him out again; instead she busied herself by undressing him. She started with his button-down shirt; after pulling it out from his pants she moved to the buttons, while nodding and pretending that she was listening. Once she finished unbuttoning his shirt, she slid it back over his shoulders. He seemed to automatically pull his arms free and throw it in the washing hamper, giving her time to start on his belt. As she hung up his belt properly, she wondered how long she could do this before he realised. She undid the top button of his pants, and only as her hand moved to the zip did he seem to notice what was happening. "-and he kept dropping hints about 'their future' and marriage and building a family, it was horrible…what are you doing?"

"Sometimes, I ask myself that same question, especially when my husband uses marriage and horrible together in the same sentence; not to mention when he doesn't notice his own wife's nudity," she replied with an almost scolding look as she lowered the zip slowly, never breaking eye contact. She watched his eyes widen as he visibly swallowed, finally noticing her attire or lack thereof. Hermione slid her hand into his pants, causing him to suck in a quick breath. She stepped closer to him, smirking at the fact that she could still have this effect on him. Gathering his composure, Ron slid an arm around her waist, holding her to him, skin to skin. Hermione stood on her toes, wrapping her arms around his neck, kissing him passionately. Ron picked her up as she wrapped her legs around him and carried her to their bed.

When Rose and Ben landed in their bedroom, they went about getting ready for bed in silence; naturally moving around almost as if in a trance. Finally they lay in bed both reading; Rose a Muggle novel, and Ben a wizarding law textbook focusing on international jurisdictions. However, what had happened tonight was still on both of their minds. Rose couldn't stop thinking about her conversation with Scorpius and Ben couldn't stop thinking about what he had walked into. He could now feel Rose pulling away, but he also knew that he wasn't being the nicest boyfriend that he had been in the past and he could have been these last few months.

"So, how was work today?" Ben asked, putting down his book and breaking the silence. Rose jumped slightly not expecting to hear his voice.

"It was okay, Alison stopped by for lunch…" she went to say something about how she came by to apologise but the cut herself off, realising that Ben didn't even know about their argument.

"That would have been nice."

"It was."

When Hugo and Scorpius arrived home, Scorpius thanked Hugo for dinner and quickly stalked off to his room, closing the door behind him. Hugo could see Scorpius was angry about something, and it worried him. He had not seen Scorpius like this much. Just before he went to bed, Hugo decided to check on Scorpius. He could see the light shining through underneath the door, indicating the he was still awake. Hugo was about to knock on the door and make his presence known, when he heard the soft strum of a guitar. Every so often Scorpius would stop playing and Hugo would hear the sound of pencil on paper. Hugo pressed his ear to the door, as he heard Scorpius sing.

'When I look into your eyes, it's like watching the night sky; or a beautiful sunrise, there's so much they hold…'

The sound of pencil on paper continued, so Hugo decided that he was intruding Scorpius' privacy and went to bed.

"Listen Rose, I know we both have a busy week ahead but I was wondering if I could ask you to accompany me to dinner on Tuesday night?" Ben asked in a hurry. Rose put her book down finally looking Ben in the eye. She bit her lip, unsure of what to do. She had been trying to think of a way to break up with Ben and here he was still here trying to make an effort to save them. It was endearing and she felt herself melt a little, but she still knew that she was going to follow through with her decision; it was all about finding the right time and the right words.

"Sure."

Ron and Hermione lay in bed facing the ceiling, as they caught their breath.

"Wow, that was…" Hermione said through a panted breath.

"I know," Ron agreed. "Who knew we still had it in us." Hermione laughed, as Ron turned his head on the pillow and watched her with a large smile. "I love you," he said sincerely. Hermione turned towards him, returning his lazy smile.

"I love you more," she mumbled into his chest as she snuggled up to him.

"Not possible," Ron said as he closed his eyes and pulled her closer.

After a few minutes, in which only their steady breathing could be heard, Hermione asked, "Did you say Ben was thinking about marriage?" Even though she sounded calm, Ron could hear the slight panic in his wife's voice.

"Yeah, he was dropping hints to me all night," Ron mumbled, trying not to think about it.

"Well, I guess they have been together a while," Hermione said, trying to justify the thought that her little girl could possibly be receiving a marriage proposal soon. "And they are living together…but…"

"Yes! Thank Merlin, there's a but," Ron exclaimed, countering Hermione's glare with a cheeky smile. Hermione rolled her eyes before continuing.

"But they seem a bit off lately," she thought out loud. "Well, I guess they have for a while, especially Rose; she hasn't been herself. They both just seem to be going different directions." Ron just muttered his agreement, his eyes closed. "Plus-" Hermione went to continue but Ron finished for her.

"-he's a ponce."

Even Hermione couldn't help but laugh at that one.

"Is that your only argument?" she said through her chuckles.

"Do I need another one?"

"So that's it and you're sticking with that?"

"Yep, case closed. My Rosie's smart enough not to marry a ponce," Ron replied. Hermione just laughed. They slipped into another silence, before Hermione asked.

"Ron, what was going on between you and Scorpius tonight?"

"What do you mean?"

"You were just giving him a hard time is all."

"What? No," Ron scoffed.

"Honey, you were," Hermione replied, pushing herself up to lean on her elbow, looking down at her husband. Ron sighed.

"Okay, maybe I was a little, but I didn't mean to be," Ron whined almost like a child.

"Well, why?"

"I don't know," Ron replied. Only after he got the I-don't-believe-you look from his wife did he continue. "I just kept thinking that if he had sorted everything out with Rose years ago then I wouldn't be stuck listening to this bloody ponce talk about rubbish more boring than the rubbish in our old History of Magic classes." A small smile found its way onto Hermione's face before she had a chance to hide it.

"Okay, well…I just have one question for you," Hermione said. "What makes you think he didn't try?" Ron opened and closed his month, searching for something to say.

Feeling defeated, he let out a frustrated sigh before saying, "Well, then he should have tried harder."

Here is the next chapter, it is shorter but the next one should be longer and packed full :) I hope still enjoyed this. I still loved Ron and Hermione forever, and I love writing them moments like these :) What do you think about why Ron was a bit sour with Scorp at dinner? Do you agree with him or not?

Let me know what you think in a review :)